Nestled among the pine trees of Arkansas lies the
picturesque jewel of a city — El Dorado. The forests, parks and wildlife maintained
by the city make this municipality a highly coveted place to live as well as
visit.
However, much like other cities across the nation, El Dorado
has experienced an increased water usage in recent years. When coupled with
drought, such growth can strain the water supplies of these small cities.
El Dorado obtains its municipal source of water from the El
Dorado Aquifer of the Sparta Formation. Since municipal and several industrial
wells in the central portion of El Dorado were constructed too closely,
replenishment times of these wells were affected to a point that demand
exceeded supply.
“El Dorado’s water wells in the downtown area
were simply built too close together,” stated Mr. Craig Johnson, P.E.,
project manager at Carter-Burgess, Inc. — a firm specializing in
planning, engineering, architecture and construction management. “With
the close proximity of the wells, the aquifer could not replenish quick enough
to meet the city’s water demands during peak months. In order to ensure
municipal water demands were met, the city of El Dorado contracted with Tanner
Engineering & Carter-Burgess to design five new deep wells, water
transmission mains, ground storage tanks, pump station, and chlorination
facilities.
In order to complete the project before the sultry days of
summer, the municipality and engineering firm decided to save time and energy
by installing a modular pumping system. The system would draw water from a pair
of two-million-gallon ground storage tanks filled by the new wells and deliver
it to the city’s distribution system.
“We met with representatives from a Dallas-based
modular manufacturing firm, Flowtronex, and explained the situation,”
commented Johnson. “One week later, Flowtronex reps presented a CAD
drawing with a proposed layout that would enable us to lay the groundwork for
the design process. Typically, the size and pumping capacity we needed was met
with a site-built station. But, Flowtronex was able to meet our needs, and most
importantly meet our deadlines with one of their modular products.”
The assembled modular station’s skid measures 16 ft x
58 ft and is open faced with 10-in. channels and open I-beams. The top of the
skid was placed at the finish floor elevation and the open I-beams were filled
with concrete to control vibration.
Because the manufacturer provided detailed CAD drawings in advance, the
engineers were able to design around the system, which included support piping,
equipment, building layout, and conduit stub-out locations. The design process
allowed the contractor to prepare the building and support components while the
system was manufactured at Flowtronex, thus saving time.
In addition, the station has an outflow capacity of 8,000
gpm and its pipe system is internally lined with fusion-
bonded epoxy, which meets AWWA standards. The station also
contains smart motor controllers (smc) to avoid pipe surges and water hammer at
pump start-ups and shutdowns, which enhance the system’s longevity. The
station, which is designed for future expansion, is outfitted with a surge
anticipator valve between the suction and discharge headers and was designed on
the same centerlines of the existing pumps on the station. In the future, the
surge valve can be relocated downstream and another pump can be moved into its
place on the skid.
Because the system’s size is limited to what can be
transported on the road, the complete
16 ft x 58 ft skid was designed and built so that it could be broken
into six sections.
“The station was completely fabricated, assembled,
tested and disassembled to ensure that all center lines were met and ensure
that all the proverbial ‘pieces of the puzzle’ formed a seamless
closure and completely uninterrupted picture,” added Mark LaVarnway,
project manager at Flowtronex. “This project demonstrates that modular
pumping systems have moved beyond their expected limits and are doing it much
faster than traditional, on-site stations.”
The opportunities presented by the evolving technology of
modular pumping systems is allowing municipalities like El Dorado to create more efficient water works systems.
According to Johnson, “Flowtronex’s modular pump station moved our project into the fast lane.
We were able to achieve the same results of a traditional stick built system
with the modular system in less time. Now, the city citizens of El Dorado are
assured their municipal water demands will be met.”
For additional information, phone Flowtronex at
800-786-7480.
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